Wyvern College

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mr Alan Newton Headteacher Wyvern College Botley Road Fair Oak Eastleigh Hampshire SO50 7AN

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Short inspection of Wyvern College

Following my visit to the college on 13 March 2018 with Helen Pennington and Francois Walker, Ofsted Inspectors, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the college was judged to be good in March 2014.

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Short inspection of Wyvern College

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Your leadership, over the past 10 years, has been much appreciated by governors, staff and pupils. You have a strong presence in the college, as evidenced in your involvement in assemblies, staff meetings, pupil mentoring, professional development activities and in the highly successful ‘arts festival’. You are an excellent role model for staff in terms of professionalism and work ethic.

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Short inspection of Wyvern College

Your involvement in the local community is also widely acknowledged and your efforts to develop links with the wider educational community appreciated. This includes your work with the Eastleigh Consortium and the ETC Alliance which bring schools together to positively influence educational change and improve outcomes for pupils. Your efforts have resulted in Wyvern College playing a defining role in the development of professionals within and outside your college.

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Short inspection of Wyvern College

Pupils spoke positively about the college and felt very well supported by their teachers. They said that teaching was ‘very good’ and commented on the passion and commitment of teachers as well as the feedback received. Disadvantaged pupils were very positive about the enthusiasm of their teachers. On the day of the inspection, pupils were very well behaved and spoke with pride about their college and their successes. They appreciated the work done by staff to promote their personal development and ensure their well-being. Regardless, pupils did express some concerns about the openness of the college site and the possibility that members of the public could enter the site. Governors and leaders are well aware of the issue and have instituted a system of passes to ensure that those on site have been suitably vetted. Furthermore, the college perimeter includes a series of security cameras and staff are highly visible at breaktime but

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Short inspection of Wyvern College

less so during the lunch break. Further consideration is being given to the layout and access of the college site.

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Short inspection of Wyvern College

Pupils’ progress and attainment continue to be close to national averages. The progress of disadvantaged pupils is below that of their peers but improving on the basis of lessons observed and books seen. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language perform as well as their peers. The progress made by lower-, middle- and higher- attaining pupils is similar to national averages. The proportion of pupils staying in education or entering employment after key stage 4 is similar to local and national averages.

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Short inspection of Wyvern College

Leaders have a strong understanding of the college and a very good awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the provision. You have very high expectations of what pupils can achieve and these are shared by staff and governors. The governing body is supportive and challenging. Members make an important contribution towards the strong practice that is evident across the college. Consequently, there is a strong capacity to continue to improve the college further.

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Short inspection of Wyvern College

You have worked thoughtfully on the curriculum to ensure that this is better matched to the English Baccalaureate. At the same time, you have ensured that it remains personalised to the needs of individual pupils. Assemblies, charity events, peer supporters and enrichment activities contribute considerably to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Similarly, pupils’ understanding of British values is supported through college elections, pupils’ voice, tutorial sessions and the college’s firm commitment to equality.

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Short inspection of Wyvern College

Leaders and governors have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and meet statutory requirements. Records are detailed and of a high quality. Staff training is regular and of a high calibre. Staff are knowledgeable about potential risks and vigilant in identifying any signs that may indicate a pupil is at risk. Governors and staff have undertaken safer recruitment training so that the suitability of staff to work at the college is rigorously checked. Responsibilities are understood and referrals confirm that procedures are suitably rigorous, well known and highly effective. Most parents responding to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, said that their child was well looked after and felt safe in college.

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Short inspection of Wyvern College

Similarly, the large majority of pupils responding to Ofsted’s online pupil survey said that they feel safe. This was confirmed through pupils’ interviews and discussions in lessons and during breaks. Pupils said that bullying, in all its forms, is dealt with quickly and that the subject was frequently raised in assemblies as well as other initiatives such as the ‘anti-bullying conference’ and the ‘STOP BOX’ where pupils can confidentially report issues of bullying. Pupils also spoke positively of the advice provided about online safety and the opportunities to talk about their worries, concerns or difficulties.

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Inspection findings

 At the start of the inspection, four lines of enquiry were agreed with the headteacher and senior staff. The first line of enquiry considered outcomes for disadvantaged pupils and the extent to which these pupils were known and supported. In the 2017 examination results, there was a significant gap between the progress of disadvantaged pupils and that of their peers. However, the gap between these pupils and their peers is narrowing as a result of much better assessment data, more-challenging targets and a greater understanding by staff.  In lessons, teachers were well aware of their disadvantaged pupils and took every opportunity to ensure their engagement and cooperation throughout the lesson. In many classes, they were thoughtfully seated to maximise their accessibility and partner them with good role models. Similarly, staff at the Bridge Education Centre confirmed that disadvantaged pupils educated there were much

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Inspection findings

better focused than previously on educational outcomes.  The second line of enquiry concerned the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, and considered whether the recommendations from the previous inspection report had been addressed. Learning walks confirmed teachers’ high expectations as well as their strong relationships and supportive interactions. Behaviour for learning was a strong feature of all of the lessons seen. Feedback on how to improve remains too variable.  Inspectors identified particularly strong learning and progress in English, Spanish art, music, drama, technology, mathematics and humanities. These lessons were exemplified by high levels of challenge as well as a strong focus on the development of pupils’ literacy skills. This was particularly noticeable in mathematics, where the subject content was challenging and where pupils were encouraged to ‘talk like a book’ when answering questions.

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Inspection findings

 The third area of focus was the leadership of the college and the extent to which middle managers have been developed in their roles. As I said earlier, you have a very good awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the college. However, your self-evaluation is too long and is more descriptive than evaluative. Similarly, the college improvement plan, 2017/2018, does not allow staff to identify priorities readily. Actions lack specificity, and success criteria lack focus.  A long-term goal, arising from the recommendations of the last report, has been the development of your middle leaders and your wish to spread the ownership of initiatives into subject departments. In speaking to the middle leaders, it is evident that this has happened and they feel empowered and engaged in the process of improvement. For example, the rigorous ‘quality assurance’ programme is now corroborating their self-evaluation.

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Inspection findings

 The final line of enquiry focused on safeguarding and child protection procedures. Inspectors found that college leaders and staff have successfully instilled a culture of safeguarding across the college. The college has effective systems to monitor the well-being and safety of all pupils. Pupils are well informed about the things that they can do to keep themselves safe. The college’s website includes useful information for parents on keeping children safe, digital safeguarding, eating disorders, recognising anxiety and how to help teens think positively.  Regardless, a small proportion of parents expressed, in writing, some concerns about bullying in the college. Pupils in meetings and pupils chosen at random around the college told inspectors that bullying is not common. They confirmed that the college does deal swiftly and effectively with any incidents of bullying which are reported. Inspectors saw that conduct around the college was calm,

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Inspection findings

orderly and purposeful. Pupils confirmed that they feel that the college is a safe environment. Staff endorsed this view in their responses to the survey.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 outcomes for pupils who are disadvantaged improve to match those of their peers with similar starting points  self-evaluation and improvement planning documents are sharply focused and give greater consideration to evaluation and success criteria  parents are better informed about the successes of the college so that their perceptions are better matched to reality.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the board of trustees, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Hampshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

Inspectors looked at a wide range of college documentation including the college’s self-evaluation, development plans, assessment information and documents relating to safeguarding. They undertook learning walks, visiting 34 lessons, looked at pupils’ work, spoke with pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, and undertook a telephone conversation with a representative of the Bridge Education Centre. The lead inspector spoke with governors, met with a group of middle leaders and had a telephone conversation with a representative from the local authority. Inspectors took account of 104 responses to Ofsted’s online staff questionnaire, 61 responses to Ofsted’s online pupil survey and 209 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, as well as 204 accompanying written responses. A

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